En no Gyōja with Zenki and Kōki (Zenki) (1615–1868): Art, History and Details

En no Gyōja with Zenki and Kōki (Zenki) (1615–1868) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This is one of a trio of figures identified as Enno Gyoja and his two attendants, Zenki and Kōki. The set follows the iconography of Shugendo, the traditional mountain ascetic practice in Japan. Enno Gyoja is depicted as a hermit-monk, seated on a rock attached to a modern base. He holds a staff in his right hand and a sutra in the left. The two attendants take the form of half-human, half-demonic figures and are regarded as a married couple.

Object facts

• Title: En no Gyōja with Zenki and Kōki (Zenki)
• Date: 1615–1868
• Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: wood and paint
• Dimensions: Overall: 8.5 x 6 x 4 cm (3 3/8 x 2 3/8 x 1 9/16 in.)
• Collection: Japanese Art
• Department: Japanese Art
• Accession number: 2012.73.b

A detail from the museum

This Edo period sculpture shares the iconography and religious function with Seated Zenki and Kōki, CMA 2012.40, from the earlier Muromachi period.

Collection credit

Gift of Yuko Hosomi and Koichi Yanagi

Further reading listed by the museum

• “Art of Asia Acquired by North American Museums, 2011-2012.” Archives of Asian Art, vol. 63, no. 2, 2013, pp. 215–276.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.